Safety guard for heaters



- Aprfi 19, 1949. A HLJQK 245K479 SAFETY GUARD FOR HEATERS Filed Dec.15, 1944 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 19, 1949 SAFETY GUARD FOR HEATERS Alfred J. Huck, St.Louis, Mo., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Knapp-Monarch Company,St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Application December 13, 1944,Serial No. 567,947

1 Claim. 1

My present invention relates to a guard of extreme simplicity for thosetypes of heaters which have normally exposed heating elements such aselectric resistance wires. wound on a core and located within areflector.

One object of the invention is to provide a very inexpensive type ofguard for this general type of heater which prevents dresses, sashes orthe like, which might get through the usual wire cage at the front of areflector type heater, from coming into contact with the glowingresistance wire of the heater.

Another object is to provide a guard which does not materially interferewith the flow of heat from the heater to the space in front of it, yetwhich eifectively prevents articles from coming into contact with theenergized resistance wire of the heater and being burned or scorchedthereby.

Another object is to provide a guard in the form of a disc, at the frontof a heater within a reflector, so that it prevents articles fromcontacting with the heating element, the guard being formed of sheetmetal or other suitable material.

Still another object is to provide the guard of cupped formation so thatit partially encloses the heating element, thus increasing theeffectiveness of the guard.

A further object is to provide a guard which may be formed oftransparent material which readily permits the passage of infra-redrays, or of perforated material to reduce the restriction of the guardto the passage of heat rays, yet serve effectively as a guard againstobjects contacting the heating element.

With these and other objects in View, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a. heater of the exposed electricelement-reflector bowl type to which my invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the relationship of theguard to the heating element and the reflector;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of a guard per se of modified shape and oftransparent material;

Figs. 4 and 5 are similar sectional views showing respectivelyperforated sheet metal and woven wire material; and

Fig. 6 is a similar sectional view showing a substantially flat discguard as distinguished from a cupped or bowl-shaped guard.

On the accompanying drawing I have used the reference numeral it toindicate a supportmg base for a reflector l2. The reflector l2 supportsa pair of terminals M suitably insulated relative thereto, which areconnected with supply Wires it within a cup-shaped housing l8 for theconnections. A heating element is supported on the terminals Idandconsists of a core 20 of ceramic or the like and a, resistance wire 22wound thereon.

The foregoing described parts are a more or less standard type ofheating element-reflector bowl type of heater, and, usually, a guard isprovided in front of the reflector in the form of a wire cage 24suitably attached to the periphery of the reflector.

A heater of the character just disclosed has the drawback that articlesof clothing, and, par ticularly, sashes, may get between the wires ofthe cage 24 and contact with the glowing resistance wire 22, therebycatching fire. The cage 24 can be fabricated of wire mesh or the like,or, at least, have more wires than illustrated in Fig. 1, to reduce thishazard, but the manufacturing cost of the heater is materially increasedthereby. In order to provide a safety guard of relatively inexpensiveconstruction I use a guard G which, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may becup-shaped, with a central raised portion 26 at the center. This raisedportion is perforated as indicated at 28, and a screw Ell! extendstherethrough and is threaded into a cross-bar 32 having its endsreceived in openings 36 of the heater core 20. Thus the guard G isreadily mounted on the core and kept in alignment by engagement with theforward end thereof. At the same time, the marginal edge of the guardpartially overhangs the heating element 22 well within the reflector [2.This prevents the contact of articles thrust through the wires 24 withthe resistance wire 22, and the guard G may therefore efiectively serveas a safety guard without being of prohibitive size or cost.

As shown in Fig. 6, the guard need not be dished, as shown in Fig. 2,but may be in the form of a relatively flat disc. In Fig. 3, I showanother modification wherein the guard is in the form of a moldedstructure, the material being preferably heat resistant glass, such asPyrex. This will serve effectively as a guard, and, at the same time,permit ready passage of infra-red rays from the heating element 22 tothe space in front of the reflector [2. As shown 3 in Fig. 4, the guardmay be of perforated sheet metal instead of solid sheet metal, as inFigs. 2 and 6. The perforations are indicated at 28 and they may be ofsuitable size and number, as desired.

In Fig. 5, I show another modification Wherein the guard is formed ofheavy wire mesh or hardware cloth. Any of the guards illustrated may becupped or flat, as desired, and it is obvious from the foregoingdescription that a number of materials may be utilized and will stillserve the mechanical purpose of efiectively preventing contact ofextraneous articles with the glowing heating element 22.

When the guard disc is made of metal, it is preferably chromium platedor polished to reflect heat toward the reflector to thereby conserve theheat rays emitted from the heater and gain a maximum of eificiency.

Some changes may be made in the construction'and arrangement of theparts of my device Without departing from the real spirit and purpose ofmy invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modifiedshapes of guard disks or forms of structure or use of mechanicalequivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope withoutsacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim as my invention:

An electrical safety heater comprising a cylin- 3 drical heater core, a,resistance element thereon,

a reflector for heat from said resistance element, a cupped guardelement attached to the forward end of said heater core and adapted toprevent inflammable articles entering said reflector from engaging saidresistance element, said guard element having its terminal edge at leasttwice the diameter of said cylindrical heater core and eX- tendingrearwardly to terminate at a position behind the front end of saidheater core and surrounding the same to partially enclose said core andresistance element, said guard element being formed of heat conductingmaterial and being polished to reflect heat rearwardly toward saidreflector.

ALFRED J. HUCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain July 12, 1940

